Law enforcement officers from the multiple agencies in the Montgomery County area were involved in the arrest of two Independence residents following an investigation that began in October.
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BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

The sacrifice of a Montgomery County military officer who served in the U.S. Army during World War II was recently remembered in a unique way.

The children of George S. Wiggins, a Cherryvale High School football coach during the mid-1930s and later an Independence business owner, have endowed a football scholarship at Kansas State University in Wiggins’ honor. Joan (Wiggins) Goodknight of Independence and her brother Larry Wiggins of Wichita presented the scholarship money to Kansas State University officials in a ceremony on May 10 — which was the observance of Wiggins’ 100th birthday.

The scholarship will be awarded to any undergraduate student who plays football for the KSU Wildcats. Preference will be given to students who are Kansas residents and play the position of fullback or runningback — a pair of offensive backfield positions for which Wiggins played when he donned the leather pads for then-Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science in the early 1930s.

The scholarship ceremony on May 10 was held in the KSU Alumni Center that overlooks the old football stadium where the elder Wiggins carried the pigskin.

“Dad is finally home,” said Larry Wiggins in a telephone interview from his Wichita home. “Over the years, my sister and I always felt it was important to do something to remember our dad. And, our mother, Maxine, who died in 2007, always had a goal of doing something to remember dad’s name by linking it to Kansas State University.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts has announced that Chelsea Chaney, an Independence, Kansas native and member of his Washington, D.C. staff, was chosen to represent the state last week as the 2010 Kansas Cherry Blossom Princess during the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC. Attached you will find a photograph from the week.

“I was honored to represent Kansas acting as an ambassador of the state during the National Cherry Blossom Festival,” Chaney said. “Having the opportunity to talk to representatives from different states and countries about the great state of Kansas was a remarkable experience for which I am grateful.”

Chelsea graduated in 2008 from Washburn University in Topeka with a bachelor of arts in history and a minor in political science. At Washburn, she was active in the Student Government Association, Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority, Student Alumni Association, College Republicans and Mortar Board.
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BY ANDY TAYLOR
chronicle@taylornews.org

INDEPENDENCE — County commissioners expressed interest in acquiring the Washington School property, which is located north of the Montgomery County Judicial Center.

The school property will be vacated sometime in 2012 due to the construction of a new elementary school near Eisenhower Elementary School in Independence. The USD 446 Board of Education has agreed to seek offers for the sale of that school property.

County commissioners toured the school building two weeks ago to determine its usefulness for county efforts. While some county residents have hinted that the school could be used as a site for a juvenile detention facility, commissioners on Monday were reluctant to put that idea into blueprints.
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INDEPENDENCE — Three Independence residents were arrested on Friday evening following a drug investigation, Sheriff Robert Dierks reported.
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BY ANDY TAYLOR
chronicle@taylornews.org

A Kansas Legislature audit report concerning consolidation of Kansas school districts as a cost-savings measure is generating ample comments in school board offices and in the state capitol this week.

The report, issued late Monday by the Legislative Post Audit Committee, was requested to determine the cost savings that could be derived if more Kansas public school districts were to consolidate or merge.  Lawmakers emphasize that the report is not a proposed plan, nor even a specific legislative bill; the audit report is merely a guide to examine for future discussions.
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INDEPENDENCE — The Independence USD 446 Board of Education encourages community members, students and school personnel to offer their naming suggestions for the new Independence elementary school.
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BY ANDY  TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

INDEPENDENCE — Montgomery County will be the national center of the Bible Holiness Church denomination starting next Thursday, Aug. 6, when several hundred church members from across the country gather for a 10-day camp meeting in Independence.
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